The first month of Maryland sports betting resulted in nearly $500,000 in taxes for the state, according to Maryland Lottery and Gaming.

Maryland opened retail sports betting on Dec. 9 at MGM National Harbor casino, followed by Horseshoe Casino on Dec. 10, Ocean Downs Casino on Dec. 17 and Hollywood Casino on Dec. 23. The five casinos reported a total of $16,552,430 in handle for the month.

“We are truly excited that sports wagering is available, and we’re eager to do our part to keep the market growing,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin in a press release.

Enthusiastic start to Maryland sports betting

Here are the total handle figures for each casino:

  • MGM National Harbor: $5,988,942
  • Live! Casino: $7,102,945
  • Horseshoe Baltimore: $2,587,324
  • Ocean Downs Casino: $554, 218
  • Hollywood Casino: $319,001

The five casinos paid out $13,382,430 in winning bets to Maryland sports bettors. The average hold rate was 19.2% for the five casinos and that resulted in a hold of $2,670,000 for the month. The taxable win amount was $3,128,660 for the casinos and at a 15% tax rate it resulted in $469,297 for Maryland.

Here are the tax payments for each casino:

  • MGM National Harbor: $146,280
  • Live! Casino: $1,355,369
  • Horseshoe Baltimore: $535,356
  • Ocean Downs Casino: $167,936
  • Hollywood Casino: $14,219

It’s a respectable start for Maryland and will be interesting to see what the state does in January during its first full month of retail sports betting with all five casinos.

Three off-track-betting venues — Long Shot’s in Frederick, Riverboat on the Potomac in Colonial Beach, Va., and Greenmount Station in Hampstead — have been awarded licenses by the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) and are expected to open early this year, according to the Maryland and Gaming Control Commission.

Long Shot’s and Riverboat on the Potomac are minority and women owned, so they fit the profile of businesses SWARC hopes to include in the state’s sports betting program.

No timetable for Maryland online sports betting

It’s worth noting that online sports betting is also legal, but no licenses have yet to be issued. The vast majority of sports betting revenues and taxes come from online sports betting in a state.

Each casino offering sports betting currently has a partnership with a third party sportsbook operator. MGM National Harbor is partnered with BetMGM, Live! Casino with FanDuel, Horseshoe Casino with Caesars, Hollywood Casino with Barstool Sportsbook and Ocean Downs Casino with TwinSpire.

Each casino will likely apply for an online sports betting license when they are made available.